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Absent Vaccine, a New AIDS Debate

With a viable AIDS vaccine still years away at best, researchers are looking to existing drugs in the fight to slow the spread of the epidemic.

The drugs appear to make transmission less likely by lowering the amount of HIV in the body, raising the possibility that the main weapon for treating the disease could be turned into an important strategy to prevent it.

A new analysis suggests that in countries such as South Africa, where the virus is rampant today, widespread HIV screening coupled with immediate treatment for those who test positive could rapidly "reduce transmission to the point where elimination might be feasible." That finding, by World Health Organization researchers, is published this week in the medical journal the Lancet. More >>